Soul in a Marble
by Stranger
Summary: A giant spider, a minature skeleton, a hag, a missing soul, and two demons with a marble fetish. R&R!
1. Glimmer

AN: I wrote this two years ago and it's been a while. Anyhow, I need to give credit to an aquaintance, "Mercy", who co-wrote this story with me.  
  
Timeline: Anytime around or after Castle Roogna, so that means Dor and Irene are still preteens, and, more importantly, Jumper is still alive. While Jumper is a very old spider, he still has the few months to live that normal spiders do. However, when he returned, the magic of the past and present intermingled in his body and caused some funny effects. For one thing, his lifespan had been increased tenfold, leaving him with more than a year to live. Another effect was Jumper's size in the past returned, leaving him at some six feet tall. Lastly, he received a talent-that of speaking the language of mankind. These effects were passed down to his last batch of spider children, who spread out over Xanth and began a new species of giant spider. However, one particular spider child named Flinch stayed home to help hunt for his failing father, Jumper. This arachnid utopia was not to last; two demons, by the names of Cay and Lusion, took the soul of Jumper. Now, the story starts with Flinch, on his way to the Magician Humphrey to get an Answer...  
  
Disclaimer: I own none of the places, although many of the creatures are of my invention, they would have never come to being without the reading of the Xanth series.  
  
Soul in a Marble  
By Rhi and "Mercy"  
  
Chapter One: Captive Soul  
  
The castle loomed over Flinch's head. "I'll be shot at first sight," he muttered.   
  
He awaited three challenges, for the boy, the future King Dor, had educated Flinch's sire about Xanth, and the information had been passed to Flinch. Jumper, Flinch's sire, had disapproved of testing people's wit to get an answer, but he could do nothing.   
  
Flinch's first challenge arose. Around the giant castle, there was a moat with four tritons, one for each direction. Flinch decided to take a chance. On the tips of his toes, he waded across the shallow water. Immediately, the triton closest to him jabbed him lightly with his three-pronged spear. Instantly, Flinch's talent flashed on; he became the triton's conscience.  
  
"Don't you feel just awful about poking that poor spider?"  
  
A small voice nastily returned, "Not at all, why?"  
  
"Because! A poor spider with a very personal problem trying to an Answer, and to add to his problems, you--"  
  
"I see your point! Enough!"  
  
"Sorry..." he muttered. Flinch proceeded without another word. He went inside the walls and into the courtyard. There awaited his next challenge.  
  
The courtyard had a patio surrounded by dandy-lions, but since it was OctOgre, most of them were dead. The few remaining plants snapped wearily at his legs, but emitted no roar.  
  
A young impatient Antlion (obviously wanting to finish his year) explained the rules to a game. Eleven buttons were lain out on the patio, all yellow. Flinch had to touch all buttons, which would then turn blue with the pressure. He began by putting his eight legs on the buttons. Three more. He put his rear on another, head on yet another.  
  
"Hags and Harpies!" he swore. Only one more to go. Thinking a moment, he finally came up with a suitable solution. He unrolled his florescent tongue to touch the last button. Easy enough. He smirked at the Antlion and strolled toward the door. Flinch did not exspect the next challenge coming toward him.  
  
Chapter Two: "Silly Spider"  
  
Flinch walked to the door. It seemed to be an easy enough task to open it. He extended his front leg, grasped the handle and turned. A second later, he felt as if he'd been hit by lightning.  
  
"You can't get through that way, silly spider." A tiny voice beneath him tinkled.  
  
Flinch stared. Why was a tiny skeleton calling him a silly spider? He could crush this thing with his mandibles. "What's your problem?" He asked rudely. "Are you not aware I could smash you to bone toothpicks with one swipe?"  
  
The skeleton giggled. "You're trying to get through the door, silly spider. But you can't do it without me!" She singsonged. "I'm Kie. Nice to meet you, silly spider."  
  
"I'm Flinch and I don't like being called a silly spider. But it's nice to meet a skeleton, even one as small as you. How did you get so small?"  
  
Kie sighed, and propped herself up against a stone. "I was born that way, silly spider. My parents were playing "A Bone to Pick", when a naughty boy with a magnifying glass and reverse wood come along. He pointed his demagnifying glass at my parents, and they shrunk. So I was created-an itsy-bitsy skeleton. It's a hard enough life being a skeleton, but being a micro one... Atrocious!"  
  
Sympathetically, Flinch picked up the sobbing skeleton and looked at her with new respect. Then he stared. Her back had oddly bumpy ridges on it. Concentrating hard, he let his talent work its way into Kie.  
  
"You should feel sorry for that poor spider. He works all day getting through the first two challenges, and now he has to turn back. That poor spider, deprived of food and rest, has to turn back now, just because of--"  
  
"Enough! I promise I'll help the spider with his task! I'll change right now, so stop talking!"  
  
"Good."  
  
Kie stopped sobbing and turned her face up toward Flinch. He noticed she seemed to be turning rigid, the bumps elongating. She was taking on the shape of a -  
  
"Key! Thank you, Skeleton Kie." Flinch fitted Kie into the keyhole, which was now quite obvious.  
  
Chapter Three: Humphrey  
  
As Flinch finally threw himself into the castle, a woman walked up to him. She was quite shapely, and a gauze veil was placed across her face, which made her look intriguing.  
  
"Humphrey will see you now." She said in a dulcet voice. "But go carefully. He's been awefully crabby, with the increase of Questioners." She held him by a joint in one of the many legs and lead him to a door, over which a sign reading, "KNOCK!" hung.  
  
Humphrey looked like a gnome. Actually, Humphrey looked like a gnome who'd been dropped from a giant's shoulder and left to shrivel in the sun. He sat upon a velvet stool, reading a huge tome, which Flinch guessed was the notorious _Book of Answers_.  
  
"Er... excuse me, sir?" Flinch ventured. There was no reply.  
  
"Magician Humphrey?" Still no reply.  
  
"How can I get my father's soul back?"  
  
Finally Humphrey looked up, pushing his wire-rimmed glasses higher up the wrinkled ridge of his pudgy nose. "As you know, I do exspect a year's service from everyone, including you." He said sternly. "You will get your Answer within a year." Then he clamped his mouth, and dismissed the Gorgon and Flinch out with the flick of a gnarled hand.  
  
Chapter Four: Marbles  
  
Demons Cay and Lusion were up at dawn, making their way into the castle. They had finished their challenges, which involved an angry cobra plant, enormous piles of clipped flowers, especially moroses, and a single, self-depreciating elf. The two had been at a loss, but quickly figured out what to do: the cobra plant was given delusions of sucess, which made it relax enough for Cay to putrefy; the piles of flowers had been decomposed quickly, after Cay had received delusional powers of mega decomposition, and as for the last task, Lusion had simply given the elf delusions of grandeur, which had made the tiny creature leave, thinking the castle unworthy of his presence.  
  
Suddenly, Lusion held up a marble and shattered it.  
  
"What'd you do that for?" Cay cried, appalled.  
  
"It's wasn't very pretty. And anyway, it's host expired a long time ago. Hey isn't that--" Lusion took a sudden interest to a shining marble in Cay's hand.  
  
A large, hairy black and blue spider skittered toward them. Lusion pushed half the collection of marbles into a concealed pocket in her straw hat, and Mercy pushed the other half in a pocket located in her waist coat, and they started to walk away.  
  
"Wait! Please!" Flinch exclaimed, hoping to make some friends within his year.  
  
"What does he want?" Lusion asked cautiously.  
  
"Shut up. Act dumb. I recognize him-he's the one who wants his sire's soul, remember?"  
  
"Hello, I'm awaiting my Answer. My name is Flinch. You?"  
  
"I'm April." Cay lied through her teeth.  
  
"I'm May." Lusion squirmed. The two demons laughed, but were cut short.  
  
Cay ventured out even further. "I make things disappear."  
  
Lusion got her cue. "And my talent is making people feel important."  
  
Flinch joined in, "Oh. Well, I take over one's conscience. Nice to meet you." He held out a foreleg and they took turns shaking it.  
  
As Flinch spunkily bounced off to meet other Questioners, the demons breathed a sigh of relief.  
  
Chapter Five: De. Lusion and De. Cay  
  
Flinch was very useful around the castle. Unfortunately for the castle, but fortunately for Flinch, Humphrey let him go early, because he took a shine to him.  
  
"Now, for your Answer. You have already met the demons who possess your sire's soul. They were disguised as April and May. Their true identities are DeLusion and DeCay. I would have given you a head start, but they disappeared some time ago. Anyhow, there long gone. But I'll give you a hint-they're headed toward Castle Roogna. Good day and good luck." Humphrey hastily turned to a skittish wyvern.  
  
"That's all! That's a--" Flinch cried angrily, but in a polite manner, as not to disturb the chattering wyvern and the Magician.  
  
"Come along, dear. Humphrey isn't very good at goodbyes." The veiled Gorgon shooed him out of the castle.  
  
As he was leaving, he found Kie sitting on a stump.  
  
"I was waiting for you. Can I have a lift? Anywhere?" The small skeleton beseeched, dropping to her bony little knees.  
  
Flinch leaned down, so that they would be eye level. "Kie, you've been very good to me, so... I guess a little ride wouldn't hurt. But what would a skinny thing like you eat?"  
  
"I'm bony, not skinny, silly spider!" She giggled, then gave him a long look. "Flinch, you may be kind and generous, but you know nothing about skeletons. We don't eat."  
  
"Oh." Flinch blushed, which meant his blue cheeks deepened to a rather interesting shade of purple. He then motioned Kie to hop onto his back.  
  
Kie made a big effort to climb onto Flinch, but had to be aided by one of his legs. "To anywhere!" she exclaimed gleefully.  
  
"I hope Anywhere is close to Castle Roogna." Flinch muttered under his breath.  
  
~End Part One~  



	2. Shimmer

Disclaimer: I own none of the places, although many of the creatures are of my invention, they would have never come to being without the reading of the Xanth series.  
  
Soul in a Marble: Part Two  
By Rhi and "Mercy"  
  
Chapter Six: Anywhere  
  
Kie was a very good companion, as Flinch found out. Even though he initially though she was a little too talkative, he realized that Kie's chatter was oddly comforting. Since she didn't need to eat or sleep, he decided when and where to stop for the night.  
  
One day, they came upon a strange sight. A man was trying to yank open a cottage door, which appeared to be locked. Flinch strolled up and chittered, "Pardon me, but why do you want to get in there?"  
  
The man wiped sweat off his brow. "Can't you see? Foolish spider, this is the fabulous, wonderful map store."  
  
"Oh." Kie and Flinch chimed together, feeling very foolish, which was not a foreign emotion to the greenhorn travelers.  
  
"Now, leave me alone, so I can open this %%%% door." Kie blushed pink, which was an interesting effect against her white bones.  
  
"Maybe we could help you?" Flinch suggested, looking at Kie pointedly, who vigorously shook her head.  
  
"How? Anyway, I am Ego Tist. I make people feel foolish, so by contrast I seem intelligent. I need to get into the map store so I can find Sending. He could change reality for me, so I will truthfully be appreciated, like I should."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"After my talent wears off, people generally think of me as a boorish goblin. While my talent is working on people, it tends to make them irritated and annoyed with my skills. If I could only open this door, my problems would be solved."  
  
Flinch and Kie looked at each other. The minute skeleton sighed and willed herself into a key. Flinch fitted her into the lock, which swung open with a creak.  
  
After the water had finally run out, the trio peered in. Boxes of map were stacked upon more boxes, which were leaning against more boxes marked "MAPS". Flinch browsed through the boxes until he found a magic map, updated daily and moving markers. Ego Tist thanked them absentmindedly and they hurried off.  
  
Chapter Seven: Music Man  
  
Lusion and Cay were lost. There was no doubt of that. Cay tried to communicate with the grass, but as she did not know the Language of Plants, her efforts where in vain. So the demons wandered along the path and were pleasently surprised to come upon a skeleton.  
  
He was wearing a tuxedo, and waving his arms to music emanating from a bone organ in his mouth. A wig of shaggy red hair accented every movement.  
  
Lusion was the first to speak. "Excuse me, do you know how to get to Castle Roogna?"  
  
The skeleton turned. "As a matter of fact, I do. My name is Thom Bone, and I can make instruments from my bones. I love music."  
  
"Which way is it?" Cay asked impatiently.  
  
"I'll show you where, it's not far from the Band Stand I'm headed for. Besides, young girls shouldn't travel alone." Thom Bone said, changed the mouth organ to a minature violin, with a tiny bone bow.  
  
Before Cay could retort that they were thousand year old demons and could travel just fine without help, Lusion kicked her in the shins. Cay stifled a squeal, trying hard not to dissapate her body.  
  
"Thank you, Thom Bone." Lusion smiled at him, then glared at the shaking demon beside her, who shot daggers from her eyes. Lusion ducked.  
  
Thom, Lusion and Cay headed toward Castle Roogna.  
  
Chapter Eight: Hag  
  
Flinch and Kie trekked on to Castle Roogna, occasionally taking breaks to catch Flinch food, to rest, and for Kie to take in the beauty of Xanth. At each stop, they would find their position in accordance to Castle Roogna on the map. Flinch hoped he could get to DeCay and DeLusion before they found protection in the castle.  
  
It was gettnig dark, which didn't bother the giant spider at all, but Kie had wanted to experience sleeping in a beer barrel tree, so Flinch found an empty tree and obliged.  
  
The next morning, they stopped in a clearing. Bathed in the oozing light stood a large cottage, which was titled, "Hari's House" on the map. Although it was a beautiful house, all white cottage cheese, the horrid squeals floating out were considerably less pleasent.  
  
Flinch looked at his map again. Still far away from Castle Roogna. "Flying Rats!" he swore.   
  
Kie shrieked, an unnaturally loud and piercing scream for such a little skeleton. Flinch turned to see the vision of ugliness Kie was seeing.  
  
It was Hari, the owner of the cottage. She was a hag, no other words could describe her condition, although "crone" and "what is that horrid thing?" came to mind. Her yellow, though thoroughly tangled, hair was rather pretty, but she was still a hag on a pooka, which was almost as wretched as herself. Her muddy eyes came to rest on the spider and the skeleton.  
  
"Well, Jethi, it seems we;ll be getting dinner tonight, eh?" Hari the Hag pointed her finger at Flinch, and he knew no more.  
  
When he woke up, he was locked in a cage and Kie was no where to be found.  
  
Chapter Nine: What's Cooking?  
  
"Flinch! Help me! I'm over here!" Kie was crumpled up in a ball and tied over a cup of vine-gar. With the help of magic, the rope she was tied to was descending every few moments. Within minutes, Kie would disinegrate.  
  
Flinch looked around and saw his small cage was made of thin yarn. Obviously this "Hari" didn't know what she/ he (too ugly to distinguish, but presumed female) was doing. Spiders, even giant ones like him, were masters of threads. The talent of weaving webs and such designs were ingrained into their very beings. He concentrated on one thread and followed it around. Satisfied, he began to chew.  
  
The hag below failed to notice-she was too busy flipping though her cookbook, muttering rapidly about which sauces would tastes best with boiled jumping spiders marinated in skeleton vine-gar. "Decisions, decisions." She cackled happily, pulling a bronze pot from a pantry.  
  
"Kie!" Flinch whispered, halfway through with his destruction of the flimsy cage.  
  
The terrified skeleton looked up. Even from his distance, Flinch could see the skeleton was frightened and desperately trying to keep her body from the bubbling liquid. The pernicious fumes reached his nostrils, and he fought the urge to retch.  
  
Working with speed, Flinch silently freed himself of the cage and dropped onto the floor. The hag remained ignorant, bustling around in the adjacent kitchen.  
  
The rope began to lower more quickly, and Flinch could see the vine-gar a scant inch from Kie's body. He jumped to her rescue.  
  
One thing Flinch should have remembered was that he was a huge spider and it was a cottage, not a mansion, he was inhabiting. He knocked the vine-gar over, but the force of his jump carried him across the room... and through the wall. The resulting noise of bubbling vine-gar on dried cottage cheese, falling shelves and breaking vases was enough noise to disturb the most distracted hag from her cooking.  
  
In a moment, the ghastly figure stepped out of the wreckage. "You broke my house! You pay! You broke my house! You pay!" She chanted ominously, all the while fingering a glinting ladle.  
  
The duo bolted. Through the forest the spider scurried, with the skeleton hanging on for her dear life; the enraged hag following at their heels hotly. It was too good to last. They stopped, for before them was a garden of tangle trees.  
  
"Of course it would happen to us." Flinch groaned, and turned around to watch the hag approach.  
  
"You broke my house! You pay! You broke my house! You pay!" She continued her monosyllablic monologue.  
  
"Such a conversationalist." Whispered Kie sarcastically.  
  
Flinch ignored the skeleton's wit and did the best thing he could thing of. He screamed.  
  
Chapter Ten: Staples, Glue, and Straps  
  
Demon Lusion jumped. "Did you hear that?" She asked.  
  
"What? The scream? Nah-it's probably some stupid farmer who get bit by a cobra plant." Cay chortled nastily.  
  
It came again, a desperate shriek filling their ears. Their eyes met, and the two demons decided to investigate.  
  
When they finally tracked down the screams, which really didn't take all that long, Cay grabbed Lusion's arm. "Look! It's the spider brat! You know, little 'I-want-my-dad's-soul-back'? We should just let the old bag take care of--"  
  
Cay was talking to thin air. Presently, the air would be thicken with misuse and become thick air. However, the thickness of air was not the present issue on Cay's mind. Lusion was heading toward the hag with a look of determination glued, stapled and strapped on to her face.  
  
Cay sighed. When Lusion had determination so tightly fixed on her person, there was no way of stopping her, except to help her. She looked around for a suitable weapon.  
  
Chapter Eleven: Save Our Selves  
  
Hari was still chanting, "You broke my house! You pay! You broke my house! You pay!" as she lit a fire underneath the copper pot which she had been wearing as an attractive head piece-it covered her face.  
  
Flinch didn't know about Kie, but the rhythmic beat of the chant was making him sleeply. He looked over and saw her sitting unaffected. Oh, right. Skeletons didn't sleep. Why did all the bad things happen to living, breathing creatures?  
  
He stopped thinking about the unfairness of life, not because he had matured in the last millisecond, but because he saw a figure creeping up on the hag. It was May, no, DeLusion. The stupid demon who'd stolen his father's soul. He would have said something, but the demon quickly held a finger up to her lips.  
  
Because he saw a figure creeping up on the hag. It was May, no, DeLusion. The stupid demon who'd stolen his father's soul. He would have said something, but the demon quickly held a finger up to her lips.  
  
"You broke my house! You pay! You broke my house! You pay!"  
  
"Oh, shut up." Spoke a voice yards away from the hag. Cay stood stiffly, holding a branch and glaring at the surprised hag. "Do us a favor and shut up."  
  
The hag pondered her words a moment and spoke up, "You stopped my chant! You pay! You stopped my chant! You pay!"  
  
Lusion sighed and reached for the hag. "I didn't want it to come to this." She said.  
  
The hag must have had some sense; evidently she realized some magic would be performed on her. The thing reached for Lusion's curls and pulled.  
  
Flinch shuddered at the battle cry reverberating from the demon's throat. "Never, never pull a demon's hair," he thought.  
  
Lusion turned to the hag, eyes burning. As the smoke wafted up over her head, she lurched forward and grabbed Hari's throat. In turn, Hari opened her mouth, serrated teeth flashing as she positioned the little daggers over Lusion's arm. Lusion brought her foot up... into Hari's stomach.  
  
"Oh, dungballs, Lusion. Grow up and stop toying with the hag. It's not nice to play with your food." Cay yawned.  
  
Lusion ignored Cay, her left hand working furiously to dig gashes in Hari's skin.  
  
"Are they going to kill each other?" Kie asked, eyes (sockets, if you must be totally correct) widening in worry.  
  
Hari, strength clearly failing, thrashed in Lusion's strong hold. She brought her hand up, raking it accross Lusion's skin.  
  
"Oh, dungballs." Cay whispered, going pale.  
  
If Lusion had been in a fighting mood minutes ago, it was nothing compared to now. She gingerly felt the blood trickling down her cheek. "You hag." She whispered, and launched herself onto the thing.  
  
"I don't know, Kie. But I don't think Hari has much of a chance. If she got angry for a curl pulled, imagine what she'll do over blood being drawn."  
  
The fight went on. And on. Just as it seemed Lusion would finally triumph, the hag would summon an inner core of fighting stamina and the battle would continue.  
  
In the ball of dust that had kicked up by the oppenents, Hari uttered a yelp and went quiet. As the dust settled, Lusion could be seen to be standing proudly over an exhausted, defeated hag.  
  
"What'd you do to stop her?" Cay inquired, color coming back to her face.  
  
Lusion shrugged. "This and that." She panted. "Mostly this." She held two fingers up and squeezed.  
  
"Oh, the old 'get-them-in-the-shoulder-blades' thing, huh?"  
  
"Yup."  
  
Flinch watched with amazement. These two girls, no, demons were talking about the fight and defeat of a bloodthirsty hag as easily as he and his father would discuss flies! How could they stand there conversing while a hag lay defeated? Shouldn't they be cheering, or something?  
  
"Well, it was fun, kiddies. But we're leaving now. Bye!" Cay called over her shoulder, having abadoned the branch. Lusion stood beside her, looking smug.  
  
The spider and skeleton waved goodbye to the disappearing duo.  
  
"That was nice of them." Kie murmured.  
  
Then Flinch remembered his task-to get his father's soul back. And. He. Had. Just. Let. Them. Go.  
  
He groaned.  
  
~End Part Two~  



End file.
